Seeking source of norovirus outbreak among Tough Mudders

Some participants in last weekend’s Tough Mudder event at Michigan International Speedway are being surveyed to help find what made them sick.

The highly contagious norovirus was identified Friday as the bug that infected more than 200 people who reported falling ill in the days after the June 29 and 30 event. Exactly where they picked up the virus is still being investigated.

The outbreak of illnesses marked by vomiting and diarrhea was caused by a norovirus, the Michigan Department of Community Health said in a news release Friday afternoon. The MDCH Bureau of Laboratories confirmed the cause from stool specimens collected since Wednesday.

Calls started coming in on Wednesday to the Lenawee County Health Department from a few people who reported getting sick a day or so after taking part in the obstacle course event at MIS.

By Friday afternoon, more than 100 calls had come in to the county health department which set up a special Tough Mudder Information line to handle them. Lenawee County residents were asked to call the line at 264-5215, said county health officer Patricia Bourgeois. She asked that people who live outside the county contact their local health departments.

MDCH is following up the calls with survey questions, she said.

“This survey was put together to try to identify what the source is,” Bourgeois said.

“We’re all working very hard to resolve this as quickly as possible,” Bourgeois said. “We have eight staff working on it today.”

Additional staff was called in to the county health department to handle telephone calls and help with the investigation, she said.

People sickened in the norovirus outbreak were also urged to take steps to prevent spreading the disease further. Advice on hand washing, disinfecting contaminated surfaces and laundering clothes and linens soiled by vomit or feces was posted on the health department’s website at www.lenaweehealthdepartment.org.

The MDCH also warned the infection can easily and quickly spread.

“Norovirus is transmitted through touching virus-contaminated surfaces and objects, eating or drinking contaminated food, or by direct person-to-person contact,” said an MDCH news release. “It is highly transmittable and hand sanitizers are not effective against the virus. Good personal hygiene, including frequent hand washing with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds, is crucial to preventing the spread of the disease.”

Bathrooms and areas contaminated with vomit and diarrhea should be frequently disinfected with household chlorine bleach-based cleaners, said the news release. People who become ill are advised to stay home at least two to three days after their symptoms have ended. People ill with norovirus should also not prepare or share food and drinks with others.

There is no specific medication to treat norovirus, according to MDCH. It advised drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.